USD Men's Basketball 1996-1997

"There ru·e so many quick judgments that what we try to do is keep mistakes to a minimum," Nichols says. "It's impossible to be perfect. We just hope the mis– takes aren't crushers in a tight ballgame." Another barrier to consistent officiating is human nature. ''There is still a tendency to let the style of play dictate how we officiate. Officials can't be subjective; they need to call games the same way night after night." Failme to do so may result in coaches contacting Nichols directly to complain. Coaches have access to Nichols during the season, and while he said most go through their conference's supervisor of officials, "occa– sionally some will call me and send me tapes." Establishing an open line of communication with coach– es is important to his success, and he meets regulru·ly with the National Association of Basketball Coaches. One of Nichols' most visible tasks is helping to select the officials and pairings for the NCAA Tournament. Working the "Big Dance" is an official's reward for a good season, and Nichols plays a key role in determin– ing which officials move on through the Tournament, from the round of 64 to the Final Four. For the last seven years, Nichols also served as the secretary-rules editor of the NCAA men's basketball rules committee. He was chru·ged with interpreting rules when questions occurred during the season, work– ing with the rules committee to add or change rules, and offering his input on what he felt was good for the game. He was forced to give up the rules editor job on Sept. 1, as some people felt he had too much power. So Nichols is now free to concentrate on officiating. It's a job he's singularly qualified for, whether you know his name or not.

allege basketball officiating has improved immeasurably over the last 10 years, thanks largely to the work of Hank Nichols. Never heard of him? That's fine with Nichols, who for 34 years has strived for consistency, which in officials' pru·– lance means fans and the media focus on the game and not the officiating. Nichols knows consistency is tested on a nightly basis. For 23 years, the last 17 at the Division I level, Nichols had few peers as a college basketball official. He was selected to officiate 10 NCAA Final Fours and six NCAA championship games, an official's highest honor. He also worked three NIT finals. Nichols traversed the country, working games in vari– ous conferences. That schedule gave him the chance to work with many officials and get a firsthand perspective on the level of officiating nationally that would help him in his next job. He noticed a lack of consistency in calls from conference to conference and region to region. "You would work a game with split crews [officials from different conferences] and one guy would call one thing and the other guy would call something else." That inconsistency was not lost on coaches and fans, who voiced their fmstrations. So, in 1986, the NCAA created the position of national coordinator of men's basketball officiating in an effort to standardize officiat– ing across the country. Nichols was the perfect choice. "My officiating gave me credibility with both coaches and officials, which was vital to my being able to do my job, especially early," Nichols says. Nichols quickly established mandatory preseason clinics and training certification for officials, developed close working relationships with the supervisors of offi– cials in every conference and watched more than 100 games a year with one objective: improving consisten– cy. He feels that goal has by and large been met.

CHRIS LINDSLEY is a freelance writerfrom Virginia, and a frequent contributor to College Hoops Illustrated.